Ed originally wrote ‘Eyes Closed’ a few years back. Starting out as a break-up song, the lyrics took on a whole new meaning after Ed suffered heartbreaking loss, which led him to revisit and reimagine the original version of the track for ‘-ʼ. One of the most pop-leaning sonics on his highly anticipated new record, ‘Eyes Closed’ captures the essence of love and loss, which is also reflected in the official video. Directed by Mia Barnes, we see Ed on a night out being followed by a blue monster – serving as a metaphor for grief, Ed is unable to shake it, wherever he goes, reminding him of the void that’s left in his life.
Speaking of the new song and the video, Ed says – “This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and everything just reminds you of them and the things you did together. You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it.
When I was thinking of concepts for the Eyes Closed music video, I wanted to make a video inspired by movies like Harvey, where the main character has an imaginary friend who’s a giant rabbit that no one can see. There’s also a book I read my daughters where sadness is encapsulated by an imaginary creature. Often sadness is something that follows you around, engulfing the rooms you’re in, and you can feel and see it, but no one else around you can. So I decided to create my own big blue monster for the video. He gets bigger and bigger as the video goes on, til he takes up whole rooms, and is all I can see, just like sadness.”
Ed’s soul-baring new album ‘-‘ will be released on 5 May through Asylum/Atlantic. Written against a backdrop of grief and hope, Ed wrote and recorded the fourteen-track record with Aaron Dessner (The National) in February last year after a series of hard-hitting events impacted his life.
Announced earlier this week, his all-new, four-part documentary ‘Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All’ will air on Disney+ from 3 May 2023. Blending never-before-seen personal archive, interviews and performances, the intimate documentary explores how his personal experiences have shaped him to become the artist he is today.
